Former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani charged with bank fraud in sports betting case

By STEPHANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been charged with federal bank fraud for crimes involving gambling debts and theft of millions of dollars from the sensation. Federal authorities announced the development Thursday at a press conference in Los Angeles. Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was abruptly fired by the team after the scandal surfaced last month and Major League Baseball opened a separate investigation. Ohtani subsequently laid out a version of events that placed responsibility entirely on Mizuhara, who had given conflicting accounts of whether Ohtani had paid off Mizuhara’s gambling debts.